Blood And Tears
by Blake Nesbit
Summary: When you have nothing left to love in life, what's keeping you living? And when your broken heart decides your number's up, what will stay the hand of execution? EDIT: Summary rewritten to reflect cancellation of Part II. Genres updated to reflect the content of the story. Title changed to reflect cancellation of Part II. Chapter 7 states the reason for cancellation of Part II.
1. Introduction

Heya people. Yagura Isobu here with another request, this one a two-parter (because I had two ideas but couldn't decide which one to do) for ChrisArm0, whose blessedly simple request was, "Do one that pulls _all_ my heartstrings".

I bet they'll feel a tug or two, Chris. Part I will involve Shikamaru and Ino, and Part II will be OC-Centric. _Like Screaming At A Wall_ is Part II, and _Blood And Tears_ is Part I. They will probably intersect at some point. So, once I get around to putting it up, enjoy!


	2. My Walls Begin To Crumble

Ino stood there, frozen with shock, in the cold night rain, unable to believe what she'd just heard.

"Wh-what did you say, Shikamaru?"

"I said no. I have little interest in romance right now, I'm sorry."

Little by little, Ino regained feeling in her shock-paralyzed limbs. "Oh...oh, well, okay. I'm sorry I bothered you. I-I'll see you around." Ino turned on a dime and walked briskly away.

Shikamaru watched her disappear, then sighed and shut the door.

He returned to his room, where a highly aroused and thoroughly disheveled Temari waited on his bed.

"Mmnh...leave it to that bitch Ino to interrupt us right as I'm about to finish..."

"Sorry about that. She just had something she wanted to ask me."

"Yeah? What was that?"

"...Don't worry about it. It's just us now, my love."

"I...I love you, Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru felt a pang of disgust in his gut as he said it back. He felt as though he was betraying Ino, but what he and Temari had wasn't true love.

So it was still okay, right?

Ino kissed Asagao's brow. "Good night, Asa."

Asa smiled up at her. "Good night, big sis." She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Before Ino had even left the room, Asagao was asleep.

Ino quietly shut the door and just leaned against it for a while. Shikamaru had rejected her. No big deal...it hurt, but within a couple days, she would get over it.

She walked into her bedroom, just across the hall. It was relatively simply decorated, with the shutters drawn over the lone window, the only light being provided by an oil lamp by her desk. The futon was set aside, rolled up with sheets piled on top of it. A small shelf which held a small assortment of scrolls and books was anchored to the wall above her desk.

She went to the desk now, opening a drawer that was normally locked and pulling out a worn book.

"Guess I have to put this in here, too..." She opened the book, which was full of memories involving her and Shikamaru.

Flipping through the pages, she paused on the one relating to the days following Asuma's death.

"Yes...he did his best to comfort me, even though he was clearly having troubles himself. And he did everything in his power to keep me out of harm's way..." She flipped back to the beginning. "The day we became cellmates..."

_"Oh! Shikamaru, Choji, look! We're in the same cell!" Ino said, pointing at the roster._

_ "Just like our dads, huh?" Choji grinned._

_ "Yeah, just like our dads," Shikamaru said, seeming uninterested._

_ Ino poked him in the arm. "Come on, Shikamaru, get at least a little excited!"_

_ "But what's the point?"_

_ "Well, it'll make _me_ happy if you get excited." Ino didn't expect a reaction there._

_ She was surprised. "Yeah, you're right. It is kinda cool. Like we're the next generation, right?" Shikamaru smiled a little. "There, how's that?"_

_ She giggled. "Ah, you...well, if you were faking, it was pretty believeable."_

"That seems eons away now..." She flipped a few more pages. "Ah? When did..."

_A year and a half before, Shikamaru and Ino had gone on a walk in the forest together. Ino got excited when she saw a deer drinking out of a stream._

_ "Oh, wow! Shikamaru, look!" Ino tugged on his sleeve and pointed at the deer, almost like a child that saw a cool toy in the store window._

_ "Wow indeed...that's a beautiful specimen, even for a deer." Shikamaru turned to her and smiled faintly. "How happy would you be if you got to pet it?"_

_ "Words can't express. Why, what are you planning?"_

_ "Just stay there and watch." Shikamaru took a few steps forward. "Go ahead and take your shoes off." He held out his hand towards the deer._

_ Puzzled but intrigued, she did as requested._

_ The deer lifted its head from the water, whickered once, then slowly walked towards Shikamaru, neck stretched out, nose sniffing._

_ "Come towards me, but slowly, Ino. Don't scare her."_

_ Ino took slow steps towards Shikamaru's side. The deer reached him first and was sniffing his outstretched hand._

_ Ino slowly got into place next to him, awed by what she was seeing._

_ The deer rubbed its forehead against Shikamaru's hand and whickered again._

_ "She trusts me now. Let's see if she'll trust you." Shikamaru moved Ino in front of him. "Project nothing but calmness and good will. Let her smell you."_

_ Ino took a deep breath to center herself, then closed her eyes. She felt the soft rushes of air break against her skin as the doe sniffed her. After what seemed like an eternity, Ino felt something warm and wet on her cheek. She dared to open an eye to look._

_ "She's...licking my cheek?"_

_ "It's safe to say that she trusts you, Ino. Reach up, slowly, and stroke her neck."_

_ She did as asked. Soon she was petting the beautiful animal, standing in the middle of a stream._

_ There were no words to express how happy she had felt on that day. Was that the day she realized that she loved him? Who can remember?_

Ino closed the book and replaced it in the drawer. "That's enough of that." She screwed her eyes shut, trying to keep her traitorous tears from leaking out, but she only succeeded in squeezing them out faster. She let herself cry.

_What happened to those days, Shikamaru?_

_ What happened to just us?_

_ What happened?_

_ What?_


	3. When A Heart Is Truly Broken

Ino was out shopping for groceries the next day when she noticed Shikamaru walking together with Temari with his arm around her shoulders.

_What's going on?_ Ino decided to tail them, but safely. She sat down on a bench nearby and used Mind Transfer Jutsu on a nearby bird.

In the bird's body, Ino followed Shikamaru and Temari, listening to their conversation.

_Come on, Shikamaru. Why should you feel bad about rejecting a jade* like her?_

_ I wouldn't call her a jade, Temari...but really, I don't know why I feel bad. Maybe it's just something I ate._

Ino's stomach plummeted. What was going on?

_I mean, come on. Who needs that prima donna when you've got me?_

Ugh...sh-she's stroking his cheek...

_Yeah, I guess you're right..._

Oh my god...no, no, no, nononononononono...th-they're...k-kissing...

Ino released her jutsu, ran to the nearest alley, and gagged, hard.

"A-A jade? How mean...I never did anything to-wait a second. She knew about last night...so he told her. So...what? Is she his girlfriend? I thought you weren't interested in romance, Shikamaru. What, I'm not good enough for you to just tell that you're taken?" She pounded the wall. "Dammit!" She winced in pain as the skin on her knuckles split. "Agh...stupid." She went back to the bench she had been sitting on, then pulled some bandages out of her bag and wrapped up her knuckles.

Then, she heard one of the two voices she least wanted to hear right now: Shikamaru's.

"Ino! Hey!"

Ino's head snapped up. She saw Shikamaru walking towards her, sans Temari.

She pretended not to hear him and started to quickly gather herself. _Dontcomeoverheredontcomeoverheredontcome-_

Shikamaru clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Ino, hey, listen. About last night, I-"

Ino swatted his hand away. "Get your filthy hands off me!"

Shikamaru was shocked by the outburst. "Wha...Ino, I didn't think you would be so mad-"

"Get away from me, you fucking LIAR!" She pushed him, then about-faced and ran away, tears rolling down her face.

"Wha...hey, Ino, wait up!" Shikamaru chased after her.

Ino ran for a long, long time, out of the village and out into the country. She eventually came to a field, where she tripped on a root and fell down, skinning her knee, elbow, and chin.

Shikamaru caught up to her. "Ino, what was that all about? Here, let me help you up-"

She slapped his hand away again. "You're a LIAR! You ripped out my heart and ground it into the dirt! I don't want to-"

"Ino, calm down!" Shikamaru put his hands on her shoulders. "Look, if you just physically and verbally assault me, I'll never know what's wrong. Please, just calm down and tell me."

Ino was unable to speak for a while, being either a sobbing mess or seething with rage. Finally, she calmed down enough to speak coherently.

"I saw you with Temari."

"That's why you're so mad? Ino, we-"

"You kissed her. And I heard your conversation before that, too."

Shikamaru was stunned. "How? I didn't-"

"A little birdie told me," Ino said caustically. "So, what, am I not good enough to even be told you're taken? That's low, Shikamaru. Really low."

"Ino, I-"

"And you're fine with her calling me a jade? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Hold on, I-"

"I bet she was in your fucking house last night. She was in your house while you told me you were uninterested in romance. I don't fucking believe you. You're a scumbag. I don't ever want to see you again."

"Ino, wait-"

"No, Shikamaru. You had your chance with me and you blew it off. Stay with your hateful bitch of a girlfriend. I don't care anymore. Now get off me."

"Hold it, I-"

"OFF. NOW." When Shikamaru still didn't comply, Ino planted a foot in his chest and forced him off. She got up, dusted herself off, and walked away.

"Ino, wait! Just let me...stop, please!"

Ino paused for a second. She turned to look at him with dead eyes and a humorless smile. "Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met before." Then she kept walking.

Shikamaru was floored. "I lost a friend so quickly..." He stood up. "Though she wasn't exactly nice about it...I guess she's right, at least a little."

Later that night, after tucking in her little sister, Ino went to her bedroom. For a long time she stood there, holding a kunai.

"No amount of pain I inflict on myself could surpass that which he put me through today. I guess that's good...maybe I should just die."

Ino drew the knife close to her wrist. "Just cut my veins and-" She gasped as her mind was suddenly filled with a vision of the deer. And another time, when something terrible happened to her...

_ Poachers are a very rare occurrence in the Land of Fire._

_ So nobody looks for traps when they're walking._

_ Ino was biting back her screams of pain the best she could, but it was hard. She couldn't even look at her leg; just the look of the bloody mass was enough to make her gag, and hard._

_ A bear trap. Who would put a bear trap in the middle of a forest where kids play with their friends?_

_ The teeth were buried deep in her leg, and the wounds were bleeding uncomfortably freely._

_ Ino wobbled a bit. "Sh-Shikamaru, I can't...stay awake..."_

_ Shikamaru was calmly trying to disengage the trap. "Ino, please, stay with me. You...you're special to me...and if you died..."_

_ Ino had been far too consumed by pain and blood loss to catch that line the first time around. Only now did she remember that once, over a year ago, he had said that to her._

_ "Ino...you're special to me."_

Ino pulled the knife away from her wrist. "...not today. I don't die today."

***Author's Note: One of the translations of the word "jade" in Japanese is 浮気女 (Uwaki on'na), which translates to something along the lines of "bimbo", "slut", or "hussy". This is the "jade" referred to in this chapter.**


	4. The Wilting Violet

Shikamaru was very worried about Ino. He'd seen Asagao once or twice and had asked her how Ino was doing.

The first time she shrugged and said, "She's crying a lot and isn't getting much sleep. She stays in her room most of the time, but when I do see her she's reading a book. Once in a while she touches her leg."

The second time was a little more worrying. "Well, I dunno. She doesn't sleep, barely eats...she insists on doing all her own laundry even though it's my job. She's started wearing long sleeves and gloves when we go out together. She looks really bad. I don't know what happened to her, but it really hurt her."

Shikamaru ran into her again today. "Ah! Asagao!"

She turned at the sound of her name. "Oh! Shikamaru! Oh, I'm glad I found you!" She looked very upset, and it made him very worried.

"What's wrong, Asagao? You look really upset."

Asagao threw her arms around him and buried her sobbing face in his chest. "I...Ino...she..."

Shikamaru's heart locked up. "What happened to Ino?"

_Ino had been delaying the inevitable for weeks. Every time the blade was ready to end her meaningless life, a long-buried memory would surface and stay the hand of execution. But it was only a matter of time before she ran out of memories._

_ Over the past two weeks, she had attempted suicide every night. Every time, she had gotten scared and stopped the bleeding before it got bad._

_ Tonight, though, her conviction ran far stronger than before. She kissed Asagao's brow, but this time lingered for a moment._

_ "Asa, you know I love you, right?"_

_ Asagao looked confused. "Yes, of course, sis."_

_ "You know I would never hurt you, right?"_

_ "Yeah, Ino, of course. What's all this about?"_

_ "Nothing, Asa...I just...I want you to know that." Ino smiled. "Good night, Asagao. You'll see me in the morning." She left, closing the door behind her._

_ Asagao didn't fall asleep. Something in Ino's voice worried her._

_ Eventually, she got up and went to get a glass of water._

_ In her room, Ino heard Asagao's door open and almost literally jumped out of her skin. "Shit! What's she doing awake?!"_

_ Asagao's shadow stopped outside the door._

Dammit! I was too loud!

_ "Ino? What's wrong?"_

_ The knife in Ino's hands trembled against the side of her neck. "Nothing. Go back to bed!"_

_ The shadow grew larger. "Ino, I'm coming in."_

Shit! I have to do it now! _Ino hesitated ever so slightly as she drew the blade across her throat._

D-dammit...t-too shallow...

_Asagao opened the door to a scene she never thought she would see._

Shikamaru couldn't speak for a long time. "She...she tried to slit her own throat?"

Asagao nodded.

"So...is she...dead?"

Asagao started crying again. "She...she..."

Shikamaru clenched his fists. "Dammit..."


	5. The Wounded Heart On The Mend

Shikamaru managed to track down Temari. "Hey, Temari. I want you to come to the hospital with me."

"The hospital? Why?"

"Ino's in the hospital. She...well, come on. I'll tell you when we get there."

"All right, fine."

_A plan is more likely to work the fewer people know about it._

_ Shikamaru had come up with this plan with Asagao's help after telling her the circumstances surrounding Ino's depression. He admired at how cool-headed Asagao had stayed throughout the planning period, even after learning that he was the indirect cause of Ino's suicide attempts. _

_ The plan was already being put into effect. Only the two of them knew about it._

_ And knowing Shikamaru, the plan would, in the end, go off without a hitch._

Ino laid there, staring at the ceiling. She refused to look at Asagao, but listened as the latter spoke to her.

"Ino...I know you probably don't want visitors other than me, but Shikamaru will be coming soon."

Ino tensed up at the mention of his name. "I don't want to see him."

"He won't be here for very long. He's bringing Temari, but it's gonna be a touch-and-go thing. He'll stop in for a moment and leave."

"Does he want me to successfully kill myself?"

"Ino, stop!" Asagao's voice hitched a little.

"Sorry, Asa..."

At that point, Shikamaru and Temari came in.

Ino became rigid, not moving even a centimeter.

Temari smirked down on Ino. "Well, well, well. Look at you, all bent out of shape over some boy. You're so immature. You know what I say?" Temari bent down over Ino. "I wish you hadn't missed."

Ino looked at her straight in the eyes. "Listen, bitch-"

"Stop it, you two. Temari, stand up straight."

Temari smirked and stood up straight. "Hmph. What a jade. You're lower than dirt, you know that? Shikamaru-"

"All right, that's enough." Shikamaru turned to her. "You should feel lucky that I tolerated your badmouthing for this long."

"Wait, what? What are you talking about, Shikamaru?"

"You know full and damn well what I'm talking about. I won't listen to this anymore." He pointed at the door. "You see that door? That marks the entrance into and out of my life. Now get out of my life."

"Wh-what? What are you saying?"

"Temari, I've been sick of your shit from the beginning. I didn't love you at all; I just felt bad rejecting you. But when Ino came to me that night, I realized something." He stepped closer. "She's been with me, by my side, ever since we were kids. Have you ever stuck with me like that? No. You just want the pleasure." Shikamaru changed to addressing Ino, but still looked at Temari. "Ino, I told you I wasn't interested in romance. That's true. I don't want to do all of that romance shit like courting. I want love. Unquestionable. The kind where we don't have to worry about whether or not the other person is going to stay faithful and true. I was an idiot, and I know that now. But, Ino...I know you'll probably never forgive me for what i've done to you...but I need you to know anyway." Now he did turn to look at Ino. "If I were to spend my life with anyone, it would be you."

Temari was outraged. "You don't want me?"

"No."

"Wh-what did you say?"

"I said no. I'm not interested in romance."

"Rrrrrgh...you know what? Fuck you! Just fuck you! You want your jade, you can have her. Fuck you! See if I ever want anything to do with you again! Fuck! You!"

Ino chimed in for the first time in the entire exchange. "You know where the door is. Now go through it and get the fuck out." Her voice turned sweet and happy, but it was the "i-hope-you-fucking-die" kind of sweet. "And I hope you don't miss."

Temari stormed out, a black cloud of smoldering rage trailing behind her.

The other members of the room were silent for a while. Asagao finally broke the silence. "Was our plan a success, then, Shikamaru?"

"Completely." He grinned and took the seat across the bed from Asagao. "You did your part well, I take it, seeing how she's awake."

"It didn't take much, but yeah."

Ino's eyes flicked back and forth between them. "This was premeditated?"

"Yeah, it was."

"What are you trying to do, Shikamaru? Get me to forgive you? It's not gonna work."

"No, Ino. I don't deserve your forgiveness, nor do I expect it. I just want you to know that..." His hand trailed down to make a fist next to her shin. "You...you're special to me, Ino. I want to keep making memories with you. Like the ones in your book."

"Y-You found that?"

"Asa did. I remember all of those things that we did...I realized how much I missed it. Just spending time alone with you in the forest or by the river. I'd like to experience that again."

Ino was quiet for a long time. Finally, she lifted her hand and made a beckoning motion. "Come closer."

He leaned in closer, unsure what to expect.

"Closer."

He leaned in even closer.

"Now look me in the eyes."

He did. She was so close that he could smell the tear stains on her cheeks.

"You're a fucking scumbag for pulling that trick with Temari. But...I realize it was unfair of me just to cut off a decade-long friendship just because you did one thing that broke my heart. You get one chance, Shikamaru, to fix my broken heart."

"And how would I do this?"

"You're going to take me on a romantic date. You're going to treat me like I'm special to you. And at the end of the night, you're going to walk me home and give me a good-night kiss."

"Well, first things first. You need to heal."

"That I do, Shikamaru. That I do."


	6. The Bloom

Time passed. Ino's neck healed completely, not leaving so much as a scar. At first she was embarrassed about showing her neck, but she grew more comfortable with it, and soon she was ready to hold Shikamaru to his promise to fix her broken heart.

She arrived at his house and knocked on the door. "Shikamaru~! Open up!"

The door wasn't answered by Shikamaru, but by his sister Shikayuki. "Oh! Ino!" Shikayuki gave her a hug. "I'm happy to see you! You're all better, now?"

"Well, that all depends on your big brother. Where is he?"

"He's just putting the finishing touches on your date now. He should be back home soon."

"Back home? Where is he now?"

"Well, I can't tell you that. It wouldn't be a surprise, then, would it?"

"Fair enough."

"Hey, there he is!" Shikayuki pointed behind Ino. Ino turned to look. When she did, Shikayuki put a blindfold on her. She giggled. "Okay, brother, she's ready!"

Ino smiled. "This better be a good surprise, Shikamaru!"

"Oh, don't worry. You'll like it. I know you will."

Shikamaru guided her through the streets for a short time, then paused to sit her down on a bench. "Hold on. I'm going to take your shoes off."

"What for?"

"So you can feel where we're going."

"All right." Ino wiggled her toes as Shikamaru took off her shoes. "How close are we?"

"Close. Can you hear the stream?"

"Yeah, I can hear it."

"That's where we're going."

"Oh really? Can I take the blindfold off, then?"

"Not yet."

"Awh, why not?"

"Just trust me."

"All right..." The two continued on until Ino felt cold water splashing around her ankles.

"Hey there, girl. See, I brought her, just like I said."

Ino was about to ask what he was talking about when she heard a sound that made her heart soar.

A deer whickered.

"You can take your blindfold off now."

Ino took off her blindfold. Tears came to her eyes and quickly abdicated, but she didn't care.

Suddenly, she'd stepped back in time nearly two years.

"The deer...the one from two years ago...and this is the stream..."

"Yeah. It wasn't easy to find her."

"Y-you went to so much trouble...to recreate this memory..."

"It's one of my fondest."

Ino whirled on him and embraced him tightly. "Oh...Sh-Shikamaru..." Almost without thinking, she had drawn within centimeters of his lips. She paused there for a minute. "I...forget all that shit I asked for. This...you've done more than fix my heart, Shikamaru. You've made it anew."

"I'm glad to hear that. But now what about the rest of the plan?"

"This can be your one plan that goes awry." She moved in to kiss him.

"I think I can deal with that." He met her lips with his own.

The kiss seemed to last an eternity, but that was fine with them.

Neither of them wanted it to end.

And if they could help it, it never would.


	7. An Update

Hey, guys, Yagura Isobu here with an update.

Though this story was initially planned to be a two-parter, Part II, _Like Screaming At A Wall_, has been pulled due to lack of material. Fear not, this will not affect the already-completed _Blood and Tears_.

Thank you and have a nice day. Sorry to those of you itching for Part II, but trust me, if I wrote it, it would not be good.


End file.
